SA paradox: From xenophobia to buying blue-chip Safaricom, Absa and NCBA – The Standard
×
The Standard e-Paper
Stay Informed, Even Offline
★★★★ – on Play Store
Login
SA paradox: From xenophobia to buying blue-chip Safaricom, Absa and NCBA
By XN Iraki
|
Jul. 5, 2026
Follow The Standard on
Some Kenyans are coming home from South Africa (SA). They are feeling threatened by South Africans demonstrating against immigrants, mostly from other African countries
That is perplexing: why not other immigrants? Let us dig deeper and find out what is really going on in SA and if there are any Kenyan linkages
Last year, I spent three weeks in Zululand, specifically at Empangeni, about 160 kilometres north of Durban. The trip takes a short time, less than two hours
The road is very good but tolled. I also visited the Western Cape, specifically Stellenbosch. I got a good idea of how SA looks and feels; the best and worst of the Rainbow nation
I even visited a township called Esikahwini. Townships are not slums by Kenyan standards; they are better like Umoja estate before high-rises
South Africa is diverse, from the beaches to snow peaks. It’s a big country that has other countries within it like Lesotho. Some regions like Western Cape would be mistaken for Europe
Rural areas are just like Kenya’s, even with round huts! With such diversity, it’s no wonder SA has a devolved system of government, and kept some traditional structures like Kingdoms
Compared with other African countries, South Africa is more industrialised and wealthier, but unequal. Inequality is the crux of the matter; it explains the threat to immigrants and xenophobia
In the infamous apartheid era, racial segregation kept blacks and whites apart. The whites, mostly of British extraction and Afrikaners or Boers, occupied the best land and had better education and job opportunities. Remember Elon Musk?
Remember Africa’s top universities? The two “whites” were not always friends. Remember the Boer wars of 1880-1881 and 1899-1902? Some suggest the extremity of apartheid was Boers’ revenge against humiliation by Britons in the Boer wars
The Afrikaners (Boers) have their nucleus around Stellenbosch and a university. The British live around Table Mountain and a university too. Boers also made Kenya their home briefly around Eldoret and Nyahururu, the two endpoints of the Great Trek.
When SA got her uhuru in 1994, the rainbow nation was the world’s darling starring Nelson Mandela. Behind this spotlight, something else was not adequately addressed: economic inequality
Today, despite black economic empowerment, many ordinary South Africans feel disenfranchised, excluded from the table. And why not?
They had less education and social capital at uhuru. That created a vacuum that sucked in other African immigrants, well-educated and ambitious. They got jobs and started enterprises, mostly SMEs
That has not gone well with ordinary South Africans. They feel the rest of Africa is taking their jobs and businesses. If you add politics into this, you get something very combustible. I saw burnt-out buildings in Empangeni in past skirmishes
Politicians find it easy to hide under scapegoats. South African municipal polls are coming soon. A factor in threats to immigrants? Scapegoating is a powerful political tool
Scapegoats mask leaders’ failure to deliver economic transformation espoused by jobs and service delivery. SA economic growth has been less than one per cent in the last three years
We need to know the “invisible hand” behind the protests against immigrants. Why against fellow Africans? While the protests may sway voting, they will slowly puncture the economy.We have been there before. South Africa’s socio- economic situation mirrors the United States (US) after the civil rights movement. Black Americans got the voting rights but not the economic power
My experience in the US Deep South was similar to SA. The African Americans resented us, feeling we were taking their jobs (and women), just like black South Africans
The SA situation mirrors Kenya too. The post-Uhuru leadership benefited from close ties to the British government through education. President Ruto exploited this narrative: dynasty versus hustler to win power
Remember hustler-dynasty? What will be the new scapegoat in 2027? We can debate, just like in SA, whether exclusion ended or was just modified after the UDA win
Now comes the sweeter part: as Kenyans and other nationalities are being evacuated from SA, South Africans are buying into Kenyan firms. The key ones are Safaricom, Absa and NCBA Bank
Remember Absa was originally ABSA (Amalgamated Banks of South Africa)! The same government helping evacuate Kenyans from SA is selling off Safaricom, Kenya’s economic firstborn, to South Africans. And am not an economic nationalist
It’s very likely the South Africans buying into Kenyan blue-chip firms are not the same ones chasing away immigrants. That by itself shows the depth of economic crevices in that country
It’s likely the protests will fizzle off after meeting political objectives. The immigrants will return quietly or shift workplaces. The economic objectives are harder to achieve
The economic divide will persist despite all efforts by the government. Economic empowerment takes at least a generation, from going to school, building a career and amassing social capital
Let’s see the bigger picture. It seems South Africa is quietly playing the long game and fulfilling Cecil Rhodes’ dream: Control Africa from the Cape to Cairo, or better, the Suez Canal. This time, not through the barrel of the gun, but through Rand or the dollar
No wonder South Africa’s acquisitions are targeting financial institutions, the central nervous system of any economy. It’s a sector South Africa has had a head start in
Less talked about is that other nationalities use SA as the economic entry point into Africa. Data also shows that South Africa is more deeply integrated into the global economy than other African economies. That’s another
It’s the ultimate paradox: as ordinary South Africans see their fellow Africans as economic enemies, the elite South Africans see Africa as their economic playground!
Alan Paton was probably foresighted when he wrote “Cry, the Beloved Country” in 1948. South Africa, I felt after the visits, could be regressing to mean, to be like any other African country. That is against our expectations
The rainbow nation, with a more advanced economy, should be the benchmark for what can go right in Africa.
Support Independent Journalism
Stand With Bold Journalism.
Stand With The Standard
Journalism can’t be free because the truth demands investment.
At The Standard, we invest time, courage and skills to bring you accurate,
factual and impactful stories. Subscribe today and stand with us in the
pursuit of credible journalism
Pay viaM-PESA
VISA
Airtel Money
Secure PaymentKenya’s most trusted newsroom since 1902
Related Topics
Xenophobia AttacksXenophobic AttacksSouth Africa Xenophobia
- .
Popular this week
- All eyes on Ol Kalou as Ruto, Gachagua fight for Mt Kenya supremacy
- Court-ordered Cabinet reshuffle revives scrutiny of Ruto’s recycled ministers
- Three arrested over attack on Linda Mwananchi convoy in Kisii
- How ODM has traded Raila’s legacy for Ruto’s power
- Matiang’i factor has redrawn the Abagusii political matrix
.
Latest Stories
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce reportedly tie the knot in secret NYC wedding
EntertainmentBy
Tania Omusale
26 mins ago
Gaza in celebration after Egypt coach dedicates World Cup triumph to Palestine
SportsBy
Molly Chebet
36 mins ago
Afro-soul star Serro on rewriting rules of live music, one show at a time
EntertainmentBy
Anjellah Owino
53 mins ago
State banks on Cooperative Bill, to boost Saccos growth, secure savings
BusinessBy
Paul Thiong’o
59 mins ago
.
The Standard
Insider
By
Juliet Omelo3 hrs ago
Recycled cabinet: Court-ordered reshuffle revives scrutiny of Ruto’s broad-based ministers
By
Josphat Thiong’o3 hrs ago
Ol Kalou decides: The making of Ruto-Gachagua fight for Mt Kenya supremacy
By
Harold Odhiambo3 hrs ago
Complicit: How ODM has traded Raila’s legacy for Ruto’s power
By
Stanley Ongwae3 hrs ago
How police protected goons attacking Linda Mwananchi convoy
.
